He vivido casi toda mi vida lejos de mis cielos. 
Pero mis pies están marcados en los códices, 
en la voz profunda de mi pueblo. 
Camino sobre el mar y las nubes que me traje: 
son mi tierra firme. 
¿Quién me la puede quitar?
Cuando digo que estoy solo es porque no estoy en la plaza pública
sino en cada uno de vosotros,
como en los granos la granada.
Podríais enterrarme en la voz de cualquier niño
si tiene los pies descalzos y ha visto los volcanes.
Mis ojos siempre se abren sobre la luz primera,
y al cerrarlos, sobre mí cae siempre la sombra de mi infancia.
¿Y todo lo que he vivido,
me pregunto, toda el agua escurrida entre mis dedos,
todo lo bailado, no es un sueño?
No he tenido tiempo para soñar, amigos.
Apenas si he tenido para no morirme.
No puedo descifrar el símbolo
porque el símbolo no es un lenguaje.
Estoy tan cerca que no me veis
en las cenizas de los muertos
y en las manos de los niños futuros.
Tercamente Mexicano,
no necesito recordar, me basta con palparme.
El sueño no tiene vocales,
pero tiene llamaradas y tambores mudos,
y las mismas fogatas
arden en las mismas cumbres.
...Si tiene los pies descalzos y ha visto los volcanes.

A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo, both now part of Italy, were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342.
In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668.
In ancient Greece, the laurel was used to form a crown or wreath of honour for poets and heroes. The custom derives from the ancient myth of Daphne and Apollo (Daphne signifying "laurel" in Greek), and was revived in Padua for Albertino Mussato, followed by Petrarch's own crowning ceremony in the audience hall of the medieval senatorial palazzo on the Campidoglio on April 8, 1341. Because the Renaissance figures who were attempting to revive the Classical tradition lacked detailed knowledge of the Roman precedent they were attempting to emulate, these ceremonies took on the character of doctoral candidatures.

Since the office of poet laureate has become widely adopted, the term "laureate" has come to signify recognition for preeminence or superlative achievement (cf. Nobel laureate). A royal degree in rhetoric, poet laureate was awarded at European universities in the Middle Ages. The term therefore may refer to the holder of such a degree, which recognized skill in rhetoric, grammar and language.

In modern times a Laureate title may be conferred by an organization such as the Poetry Foundation, which designates a Young People's Poet Laureate, unconnected with the United States Poet Laureate.
The office is also popular with regional and community groups. Examples include the Pikes Peak Poet Laureate,which is designated by a "Presenting Partners" group from within the community, the Minnesota Poet Laureate chosen by the League of Minnesota Poets (est. 1934), the Northampton Poet Laureate chosen by the Northampton Arts Council, and the Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureatechosen by ten judges representing the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society.
Over a dozen national governments continue the poet laureate tradition.

Miguel Ángel Osorio Benítez (July 29, 1883 – January 14, 1942), better known by his pseudonym, Porfirio Barba-Jacob, was a Colombian poet and writer.

Born in Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia, to parents Antonio María Osorio and Pastora Benítez, he was raised by his grandparents in Angostura. In 1895 he started his travels, first through Colombia, and from 1907 to Central America and the United States, before finally settling down in 1930 in Mexico City.
Around 1902 in Bogotá, he founded the literary magazine "El cancionero antioqueño" (The Antioquian songbook), which he managed under the pseudonym Marín Jiménez. Short after, he wrote the novel "Virginia", which was never published because the original manuscript was confiscated by the mayor of Santa Rosa for alleged immorality.
In 1906 he moved to Barranquilla where he adopted the pseudonym Ricardo Arenales. He continued to use this pseudonym until 1922 when in Guatemala he adopted a new pseudonym which he would use for the rest of his life: Porfirio Barba-Jacob. Around 1907, still in Barranquilla, he wrote his first poems, such as "Árbol viejo", "Campiña florida", and his most famous work, "Canción de la vida profunda" (Song of the deep life).
During his journey through Central America, Mexico and the US, he contributed to many magazines and journals. He befriended Porfirio Díaz, which led to his fleeing to Guatemala, then to Cuba, for disagreeing with Manuel Estrada.
In 1918 he returned to Mexico, where it is said that he wrote a biography of Pancho Villa. In 1922 he was expelled by Álvaro Obregón and fled again to Guatemala, from where he was again expelled in 1924 by Jorge Ubico. Barba-Jacob then went to El Salvador, and after being deported by Alfonso Quiñones, travelled to Honduras, New Orleans and Cuba. In 1927 he returned to Colombia and, after some recitals and contributions to the Colombian journal El Espectador, he left Colombia on what would be his last trip.

He died in 1942 of tuberculosis in Mexico City. Four years after his death, on 11 January 1946, his ashes were claimed by the Colombian government and were returned to the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres.

Adolfo Cantú

ArtConsultant & Specialist     FCG Copyright © CYDT©

The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 (Spanish: Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1857) often called simply the Constitution of 1857 is the liberal constitution drafted by 1857 Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio Comonfort. It was ratified on February 5, 1857,establishing individual rights such as freedom of speech; freedom of conscience; freedom of the press; freedom of assembly; and the right to bear arms. It also reaffirmed the abolition of slavery, eliminated debtor prison, and eliminated all forms of cruel and unusual punishment, including the death penalty.

Some articles were contrary to the interests of the Catholic Church, such as education free of dogma, the removal of institutional fueros (privileges) and the sale of property belonging to the church. The Conservative Party strongly opposed the enactment of the new constitution and this polarized Mexican society. The Reform War began as a result, and the struggles between liberals and conservatives were intensified with the implementation of the Second Mexican Empire under the support of the church. Years later, with the restored republic, the Constitution was in force throughout the country until 1917.